Turkish Journal of Hematology (Feb 2022)

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 in Turkish Patients with Hematological Malignancies

  • Sinem Civriz Bozdağ,
  • Güldane Cengiz Seval,
  • İpek Yönal Hindilerden,
  • Fehmi Hindilerden,
  • Neslihan Andıç,
  • Mustafa Baydar,
  • Lale Aydın Kaynar,
  • Selami Koçak Toprak,
  • Hasan Sami Göksoy,
  • Berrin Balık Aydın,
  • Ufuk Demirci,
  • Ferda Can,
  • Vildan Özkocaman,
  • Eren Gündüz,
  • Zeynep Tuğba Güven,
  • Zübeyde Nur Özkurt,
  • Sinan Demircioğlu,
  • Meral Beksaç,
  • İdris İnce,
  • Umut Yılmaz,
  • Hilal Eroğlu Küçükdiler,
  • Elgün Abishov,
  • Boran Yavuz,
  • Ünal Ataş,
  • Yaşa Gül Mutlu,
  • Volkan Baş,
  • Fahir Özkalemkaş,
  • Hava Üsküdar Teke,
  • Vildan Gürsoy,
  • Serhat Çelik,
  • Rafiye Çiftçiler,
  • Münci Yağcı,
  • Pervin Topçuoğlu,
  • Özcan Çeneli,
  • Hamza Abbasov,
  • Cem Selim,
  • Muhlis Cem Ar,
  • Orhan Kemal Yücel,
  • Sevil Sadri,
  • Canan Albayrak,
  • Ahmet Muzaffer Demir,
  • Nil Güler,
  • Muzaffer Keklik,
  • Hatice Terzi,
  • Ali Doğan,
  • Zeynep Arzu Yegin,
  • Meltem Kurt Yüksel,
  • Soğol Sadri,
  • İrfan Yavaşoğlu,
  • Hüseyin Saffet Beköz,
  • Tekin Aksu,
  • Senem Maral,
  • Veysel Erol,
  • Leylagül Kaynar,
  • Osman İlhan,
  • Ali Zahit Bolaman,
  • Ömür Gökmen Sevindik,
  • Arzu Akyay,
  • Muhit Özcan,
  • Günhan Gürman,
  • Şule Ünal,
  • Yasemin Yavuz,
  • Reyhan Diz Küçükkaya,
  • Güner Hayri Özsan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4274/tjh.galenos.2021.2021.0287
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 39, no. 1
pp. 43 – 54

Abstract

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Objective: Patients with solid malignancies are more vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection than the healthy population. The outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in highly immunosuppressed populations, such as in patients with hematological malignancies, is a point of interest. We aimed to analyze the symptoms, complications, intensive care unit admissions, and mortality rates of patients with hematological malignancies infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Turkey. Materials and Methods: In this multicenter study, we included 340 adult and pediatric patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 from March to November 2020. Diagnosis and status of primary disease, treatment schedules for hematological malignancies, time from last treatment, life expectancy related to the hematological disease, and comorbidities were recorded, together with data regarding symptoms, treatment, and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: Forty four patients were asymptomatic at diagnosis of SARSCoV- 2 infection. Among symptomatic patients, fever, cough, and dyspnea were observed in 62.6%, 48.8%, and 41.8%, respectively. Sixtynine (20%) patients had mild SARS-CoV-2 disease, whereas moderate, severe, and critical disease was reported in 101 (29%), 71 (20%), and 55 (16%) patients, respectively. Of the entire cohort, 251 (73.8%) patients were hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2. Mortality related to SARS-CoV-2 infection was 26.5% in the entire cohort; this comprised 4.4% of those patients with mild disease, 12.4% of those with moderate disease, and 83% of those with severe or critical disease. Active hematological disease, lower life expectancy related to primary hematological disease, neutropenia at diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, ICU admission, and first-line therapy used for coronavirus disease-2019 treatment were found to be related to higher mortality rates. Treatments with hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin were associated with a higher rate of mortality in comparison to favipiravir use. Conclusion: Patients with hematological malignancy infected with SARS-CoV-2 have an increased risk of severe disease and mortality.

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